I Love You But I Shouldn't
by Maximum Rose Ride
Summary: Max is the top 3 day eventer in England,but when her parents decide to move to American she meets Nickolas Ride, top 3 day eventer in America. They r both fighting 4 a spot on top but there is only one first place winner. In the sport they are rivals, but outside the sport? They can't resist each other. This causes some,complications to their careers. FAX R&R?
1. Chapter 1

**Heya guys, so I decided to rewrite this story cause I reread the, what, 700 words? And cringed... So it was formally known as Lovers or Rivals but I changed it to I Love You But I Shouldn't. I hope that you give this story a chance, even if you aren't an equestrian. So enjoy!**

**Terms to know:**

**Eventing** (also known as **horse trials**) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combination compete against other combinations across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding. The competition may be run as a one-day event (ODE), where all three events are completed in one day (dressage, followed by show jumping and then cross country) or a three-day event (3DE), which is more commonly now run over four days, with dressage on the first two days followed by cross country the next day and then show jumping in reverse order on the final day. Eventing was previously known as **Combined Training**, and the name persists in many smaller organizations.

"Max! Get down here! Breakfast is ready!" My mother called from downstairs. I leaped up from where I was sitting on my bed, still in my plaid pajama bottoms. After jogging down the hallway a bounded down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Once I reached the bottom I was scolded by my father.

"Maximum, how many times have we told you to be careful going down the stairs, we can't have you braking a bone and not being able to compete." I laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be careful, I promise. It's not like I couldn't break any bones actually riding Bailando." I teased. Bailando (By-lan-dou), or most commonly known as Bailando Bonita, one of the most well know eventing horse in England and I was lucky enough to call him mine. My mother turned around and pointed a spatula at me.

"Ah yes! But Bailando is to loving to try to hurt you and you are so much more coordinated while you're on him." I feigned hurt and placed a hand over my heart.

"Are you trying to tell me I'm clumsy?" I asked in mock bewilderment.

She turned around and placed a plate full of bacon and pancakes on the table for breakfast. "that is exactly what I'm saying." She mumbled. I went out the door before I even made a plate of breakfast for myself. It was my morning routine, well, more like my motto as an equestrian. 'The horses come first.' I always took care of Bailando before myself which takes us to where I am now. I am currently sanding outside by the gate to Bailando's pasture. I called his name a few times and waited.

It didn't take long till I saw a large figure emerging from the trees. Bailando came galloping towards me, in his excitement he threw his hind legs in the air in a playful buck. He came to a screeching halt in front of me. He dropped his head and nudged my lower arm with his mussel. I rubbed the inside of his enormous ears, his favorite spot.

Opening the gait I began to walk towards the barn. I smiled when I turned around and saw Bailando following me without anything on him. This wasn't unusual of him but it made me smile ever time. Once we were in the barn I opened his stall door and let him walk in. He stood in the middle and waited patiently for me to dump his feed, aka his breakfast. After making sure his stall door was locked I began walking around the barn, making sure no one broke in over night. Yea... Call me paranoid but when you have three horses that are worth over 100,000 dollars _each_ and over 10,000 dollars in equipment you'd be surprised how many people would try to steal a horse or a saddle or two.

I walked into the tack room and turned on the light, taking inventory. Spare bridles and saddles hung on the wall right where I left them last. The only things missing were my show tack. I almost forgot we were leaving today at noon for America. My parents are looking for a permanent home in America instead of England, where I have been my entire life. They say there is more potential for me in America. I agreed but only one thing worried me. I turned the lights back out and shook the thought out of my head and turn and walked back to Bailando's stall.

By the time I arrived he was done with his breakfast and standing patiently and swooshing his tail from time to time ridding himself of flys. I opened his stall door and stepped inside with him. I ran my hands over his neck and body in wonder. I still couldn't believe this boy was mine. To say he was beautiful was an understatement. He is bay with four white stockings on his legs that came up above his knees and a blaze on his face. His mane, tail, and forelock are all black. He stands at 17.2 hands high which is also about six feet tall, yes, I know, he's a skyscraper. His neck is thick with muscles from all our practice sessions. His spine was also lined with muscles which flowed into the powerful muscles in his hind end that he needs to jump fences that were about six feet. Bailando is an Oldenburg horse, the breed originated in Germany and became very popular in many other countries. They are mainly used for show jumping and dressage, some say they aren't good for cross country but we prove them wrong.

There have been many rumors that go around the show circuit saying that I abuse him and force him to do eventing, when, in all honesty I love this horse more than myself. Bailando actually loves his job and is always eager to please me. I have bee with him since he was a foal.

Six years ago, when Bailando was only a few months and I was only thirteen, the barn he and his dam (mother) stayed in caught a blaze. The barn was very well known and there were many horses being boarded there, I was even volunteering there the night it happened. A groom thought it would be fun to have a smoke in the hay room. In case you don't know, hay is just dried up grass and, surprise! Dry grass and ashes catch fire very fast. The fire spread very quickly. Pretty soon the entire barn was a flaming inferno. Horses were panicking in side and other employees were rushing in and out, trying to save as many horses as they could. Eventually I got tired of watching and not doing anything and ran inside the burning barn, escaping the hold my mother had on my arm.

The flames reached for me but I kept running until I heard a panicked whiny to my right. Without thinking I ran towards the noise. I avoided pieces of the roof that was falling and knocked down a stall door which revealed an antsy colt pacing and rearing in place. Carefully I walked towards the frightened foal and grabbed his halter and tried tugging him out of the stall, he wouldn't budge. Suddenly I realized I was running out of time when I started to cough from the smoke. If I was coughing I knew that the foal had more smoke in his lungs then me so without a second thought I took off my shirt and ignored the fact I was in my bra and put my shirt over the foal's head, blinding it and providing some sort of filter for the frightened animal. Now that the foal couldn't see he had no choice but to follow me out of the burning barn.

Out of the sixty horses that were in that barn only forty horses got out, some with scars that wouldn't heal. Bailando's mom was included in the fatalities. A few weeks after the fire, I was recognized as the brave teenager who risked her life for a foal. Bailando's owner only found it fit that since I risked my life for his foal that the foal should belong to me so he gave him to me. Since Bailando was without a mother and still needed milk I would come to the barn every day and make sure he was fed, it was easy since I was home schooled. I suppose that is why Bailando and I make such a great team, in his eyes i was his mother.

The sound of my dad's voice echoing through the barn isle brought me out of my thoughts. "Max! Common, we have a flight to catch in three hours! We have everything in the truck and trailer, all thats left is you two!"

Nodding I grabbed Bailando's purple halter and lead rope and lead him out to the trailer. As I walked the reason why we were moving to America popped back into my head, it was true America held more opportunities for me but... The only thing that worried me was... well... Here, in England, I am the number one eventer, I have surpassed everyone by the age of 19. But, in America, the thing that worries me is... Fang Ride... the number one eventer in America. He, at the age of 21, has surpassed everyone and was the one my parents expected me to beat and take his spot on top.

**I apoligise in advance for any grammar errors this was written early in the morning and I'm tired. Hope you enjoy! Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**So... I understand that some of the equine terminology can be confusing but please! If you have any questions at all please PM me, I'd be happy to answer all your questions. And don't worry the story wont revolve around the horses for long, its just to develop Fang and Max's relationship ;P**

~Fang POV~

"Fang! Get your lazy ass up and take care of Night!" I groaned and tried to hold onto the last sliver of sleep I had left, pulling the blanket over my head.

"Ella! Language! And Fang, its almost seven, you do need to get up!" Remember that last sliver of sleep I was talking about? Yea, its gone now. I could almost _feel_ Ella, my sister, rolling her eyes on the other side of the door at our mom's words. I tried to roll out of bed like a ninja like they do in the movies but... well, it didn't work out so well. I got tangled in my bed sheets and face planted onto my carpeted (thank god) floors and groaned in pain, still to tired to move.

"Fang, did you just fall out of bed... Again?" My sister chuckled from the other side of the door.

"I'm so glad you find my pain humorous, Ella." I hissed at her as I untangled my feet and stood, kicking the sheets far away from me. I could hear her annoying laugh fade as she ran down the hall and down the stairs towards the kitchen, most likely. _That's right, _I thought. _You better run. _

Not bothering to put any clothes on I lazily made my way down stairs, almost tripping in the process. As I made my way around the corner to the kitchen I could see my mom. She gave me the most perfect smile that only a mother can give her kids. For being 42, having me at 21 and Ella at 27, she was still beautiful. Her medium length hair was pulled back into a pony tail on the back of her neck, succeeding in keeping it out of her face.

"Good mornin' Mama." I mumbled with a small smile and kissed her cheek. Then Ella just had to grace us with her presence.

"Ew! Don't you know what clothes are?!" She all but shrieked. I raised an eyebrow and looked down, confused as to what the big deal was. I looked back to her and she had her hand covering her eyes.

"Ew! Don't you know what make up is?" I snapped back at her. In all honestly make up was the last thing Ella needed. She was gorgeous the way she is but I'm her brother, I'm allowed to make fun of her. She knows that I don't mean anything I say to her. If anyone else would have said that to her I think I would beat them to a pulp. "Ow! What was that for?!" I whined when our mom hit me upside the head with a (clean) spatula. "Don't talk to your sister that way!" I stood there with my mouth hanging open like a fish for a while just pointing at Ella. "B-b-But Sh-"

"Go put some clothes on or you don't get breakfast." She said sternly, putting her hands on her hips, meaning she meant business. "I don't see what the big deal is, I have boxers on..." I mumbled rubbing my head where I was so rudely hit. "What was that Fang?" "Nothing!" I answered quickly.

As I was leaving the kitchen I smirked when I walked past Ella with her tongue out. I booty bumped her which sent her onto the floor on her bottom. Her as widened before she scrambled to her feet. She just got booty bumped by her older brother, saying she was embarrassed was an understatement, and when girls get embarrassed they get angry. "Fang Domonique Ride!" She yelled as she chased me down the hallway and up the stairs. The second I made it in my room I slammed the door and locked it... Just in case.

I sighed as I walked towards my dresser that held my riding clothes, yes, I have two dressers, one for riding clothes and the other for casual clothing. I pulled out a pair of black riding jodhpurs **(Jodhpurs are basically really tight pants meant for riding. If you look up black riding jodhpurs you can see what they look like) **. Moving to the next drawer down I pulled out a light weight black short sleeved shirt. Changing into jodhpurs was always a struggle for me. Why do they have to be so damn tight? Innuendo not intended... After a few hops and jumps I finally got them on. I pulled the shirt over my head. I loved this shirt, it was so light weight it didn't even feel like I was wearing anything. Grabbing a pair of grey socks that came up to my knees I pulled them on over my jodhpurs.

Once I was done changing I marched down the stairs rather noisily. once I was on the tiled floor of the down stair area I got a good running start towards the kitchen. I made my grand entrance by sliding in on my feet and sat down across from Ella.

"Can't you act your age and grow up?" Ella asked around a spoonful of cereal. "Nope!" I said popping the 'p'. "Growing up is for losers." I said pointing my spoon at her accusingly, which earned me an eye roll. I shoveled the rest of my cereal into my mouth and thanked mama for the food she set out.

As Ella and I were about to leave the kitchen or mom called us back. "Ella? Fang? Could you sit down for a second?" We both nodded in unison and sat back down. My eyebrows furrowed thinking about what it could be. "Is something wrong? Has something happened Mama?"

She dismissed my questions with a wave of her hand and shook her head. "No, no, no sweetie, nothings happened. As you know we own a fairly large barn with quite a few boarders **(Boarders are people who basically pay rent to an owner of a barn to keep their horses their and for the barn hands to take care of them. Thats how their family earns money.) **?" I nodded and she continued. "I have some old friends that need a place to stay for a while while they look for a new house. They have a daughter and she has a horse. I offered for them to stay here until the can find a house, and of course their daughter's horse will stay in one of the stalls."

"Their staying for free?" Ella asked. "I offered for them to stay for free but they turned it down. Their daughter agreed to give lessons to some of our riders instead of paying." I scoffed at the idea of someone else besides Dan, our best trainer at the barn, giving lessons. "Good luck with that." I scoffed.

"For your information Fang, she is very skilled in eventing, like you. She surpassed her father when she was ten." Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Then he must have be pretty lousy at riding." My mom struggled to find the words to say to me so she looked like a fish struggling for air. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to got ride Night." I pushed my chair out and stormed to the front door where I kept my leather Ariat field boots. **(Again if you are curious as to what they look like just search Ariat field boots and you'll find them :p) **Shoving my feet in and pulling he zipper up and snapping the button at the top I opened and slammed the door behind me. I could faintly hear my mom yell after me saying something about them arriving soon.

~Third POV~

Ella sighed and shook her head after her brother stormed out just a few moments before. "You know why your brother gets like that every time someone new comes to the barn right?" Their mother asked. "No, but he doesn't have to be so rude to us about it." Ella exclaimed annoyed.

Her mom just looked at her disapprovingly. "Fine... Why does he get like that" She asked, genuinely curious. Of course, her brother always got over after a while but there was never a real reason why he got mad, at least none that she could see. The next words that came out of her mothers mouth hit her like a semi.

"He gets scared..." She almost whispered. Ella had never seen her brother 'scared', only angry. As if reading her daughters thoughts she continued. "He makes you think he's angry because he doesn't want anyone to see him genuinely scared. He is scared that someone will come along and take his place. You may not see it but your brother doesn't like to be challenged. He's scared that there is someone better then him."

Ella's eye widened. "But who cares if there is someone better then him?! He gave it his all and that is all that should matter!" Ella exclaimed, standing up out of her chair and putting her palms on the table.

Her mom's facial features softened. "It matters to him, Ella... Horses were the only things he could trust when he was younger, they never left him. Even today they have never turned their backs on him when others have. He may as well have lived in a barn all his life. He feels that he owes it to the horses that he has been with to be on top. He feels that its the only way to show how much he's learned from each one of them and how much the horses mean to him. It may seem ridiculous to us but to Fang, those horses are the only reason he lives today."

Ella's mouth fell open and she looked towards the door that Fang had exited a few minutes ago. She had no idea...

~Back to Fangy-boy's POV~

I jogged through the barn isle, making my way towards Night's stall. Night is more commonly know as Only After Midnight on the show circuit. Night is a pure black Hanoverian. She is 16.2 which is very close to five and a half foot. Night's breed, Hanoverian, is a warmblooded horse breed originating in Germany, which is often seen in the Olympic Games and other competitive English riding styles, and have won gold medals in all three equestrian Olympic competitions (Dressage, Show Jumping, and Cross Country).

I wasted no time in pulling her out of her stall and grooming her. When I was done grooming her I put her tack on and walked her outside the barn into one of the many outdoor areas we have. This particular area was close to the road that wound through the barn and lead up to our house. I began warming Night up at a canter since, even though a canter is faster then a trot, is less work for a horse then a trot. Once we cantered around the area a few times each way we went down to a trot. Night had one of the best trots I've ever ridden. You could feel the energy she put into if but it was still very smooth.

Once she was all warmed up I started to take her over the Grand Prix jumps that were set up in the area.**(Grand Prix jumps are around five to six feet tall)** When Night and I were both painting heavily I stopped her in the middle and hopped off of her, petting her under her belly, right where she liked it. I loosed her girth, letting her know that our workout was over.I was so concentrated on jumping that I didn't realize until after I got off that there was someone sitting on the fence of the arena watching us. I stopped walking, not out of surprise but because of how gorgeous she was. It took me second to compose myself and I slammed my emotionless mask back on. I cautiously walked towards her.

"Can I help you?" I asked as she completely ignored me and walked to Night, who I was leading, and began to rub her ears. It seemed only just the that she realized I was there too. She turned towards me and stuck out her hand.

"My name is Max and I'll be staying with you for a while." I took her hand and shook it. I swear that man eater smile she gave me made my breath hitch. This girl would be the death of me.


End file.
